Myanmar is a country in Southeast Asia. The military government has enacted a law regarding VPNs and digital currencies in their country. It outlaws the use of virtual private networks, more commonly known as VPNs, and the use of digital currencies. Violators of the following new laws will face jail time and be fined.
A report published by The Register gave us the following information. People using VPNs will need between one to three years of jail and. In some cases, an additional fine of $2,800 or five million Myanmar Kyats. Individuals using digital currencies will face a minimum jail sentence of six months and a maximum of a year, in addition to the fine of $2,800.
The military government’s planned legislation will require service providers to share customers’ personal information when asked by authorities. In addition to targeting digital currency and VPN users.
The director of Netblocks – a company specializing in internet monitoring – Alp Toker had something to say about the new law. In Toker’s words, “The proposed bill is draconian, even by the standards of the Burmese (Myanmar) military. The first version of the bill proposed in February 2021 was dropped after industry and civil society united to push back, but the military has been set on getting its way.”
Toker argued that the use of VPN has helped have Myanmar stay in touch with the rest of the world. She mentioned that VPN was a connecter after the military took power and blocked social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram in February 2021.
According to The Register report and Toker’s views, the government can easily backfire on this decision.